As my collecting
habits have widened, I've come to realise there really were a lot of
transforming robots knocking around twenty years ago. I thought it'd
be a good idea if some expert would hammer out a guide to them all.
Sadly, they all seem to be busy, so I've had a go instead.

The list
only covers Western lines of the 1980s (that bit just wouldn't fit on
the graphics; starting on Japanese lines would be really reaching beyond
my knowledge), and is limited to those with transforming figures in
them (obviously). Most of the entries are quite sketchy and open to
correction/expansion, while there are probably some lines I've missed
entirely. Feel free to contact me with
any additional information or corrections.

Lines that
have a full section on this site are only briefly covered, as more information
can be found elsewhere on this site. At the moment, the lines are sorted
in an alphabetical order; hopefully if/when more solid information can
be found on some of the lines I can put it into a timeline order.

A selection
of figures packaged and marketed by American company Village Toys, possibly
imported to Europe as well. Included figures designed by Mark, Yonezawa
and ToyCo - most of these were also licensed for other lines around
the world, including Transformers
and both the American and British
versions of Convertors.

No relation
to the Select line of the same name. Produced by Grandstand
(perhaps best known for their electronic board games), and seems to
have been UK only (though many of the figures were licensed by other
companies in various markets).

Figures
were leased from Yonezawa (Betatron and Deltatron, issued in America
as Trans-Bot-3 and Fight-R-Bot respectively as part of Village Toys'
Convert-A-Bots, while another Yonezawa
design came out as Sigmatron), Toy Box (Omegatron,
which kept the Japanese scheme - the same toy was recoloured in America
as the Transformers figure Omega
Supreme; the Grandstand release may have been the reason Omega didn't
come out in the UK) and Takara (various Microman and Diaclone
figures not picked up for Transformers - Alphatron was modelled on the
DiacloneGats
Blocker,
Siclonoid on the DiacloneWarudos, the Deltarian
Shuttle was based on the DiacloneDia
Trainand
Deltarian Fighter was taken from the New MicromanCosmic
Fighter).

The toys
were relatively expensive, and the largely unpromoted line was battered
in the UK by Transformers and Robo
Machine.

CONVERTORSManufacturer: SelectIn Production: 1984-1985

Imported
versions of various figures designed by Japanese company Mark, from
various lines (Gokin Robo, Robo
Car, Zectron, Galvion). Later joined by some exclusive
designs, most likely again designed by Mark.

Figures
only seem to have been licensed as Convertors in North America,
though many of the moulds were licensed in other markets (Italian company
GiG released Robo Car and Gokin Robo - the latter as Super
Mechanic - in their own market) and frequently bootlegged (Casinorobots,
possibly Convert-A-Bots, Transformables
etc.).

Plastic
transforming cars with diecast parts and friction motors. The moulds
have a slightly hazy origin - some of them are similar to those issued
by Monogram as model kits using the Gobots
brand, but there were at least six figures in Dashbots, as opposed to
the three types issued by Monogram.

Unsuccessful
import of selected Diaclone figures into America, much like Kronoform.
Three Car Robot figures released as Robot/Cars (red Custom Countach,
black Onebox Vanette, blue Toyota Hilux); three Dasher released (named
as Aragon, Cromar and Zeta), plus Multi-Force 14 (based on Gats Blocker).
A commercial failure, but the designs attracted the attention of Hasbro
and led to Transformers not long
afterwards.

GOBOTSManufacturer: TonkaIn Production: 1983-1987

Initially
an import of Bandai's Machine Robo, adding characters and factions
to the toys. The Machine Robo figures were later joined by some
Tonka designs and some figures designed to order by Bandai. A cartoon,
Challenge of the Gobots, was made by Hanna-Barbera, while Tonka
licensed the brand for anything going. Tonka's agreement only covered
North America - in the rest of the world Bandai retained the rights,
and Gobots branding was only intermittently used.

To start
with the line was
a huge success, but poor commercial management and difficulty in selling
larger toys led to cancellation.

Unsuccessful
import of selected Popy/Bandai Chogokin/Popinika figures.
Japanese overstock shipped to America for repackaging led to high prices,
while not disabling the spring-loaded features meant an Age 8 &
Up policy, completely missing the target audience.

Not all
the figures are 'pure' transforming robots, but enough were (Daimos,
Daitetsujin 17, Leopardon etc.) that it's worth a mention - these weren't
added to the line until the second series of figures, in 1984. Various
attempts at relaunching, such as introducing smaller, cheaper figures
and later rebranding as Godaikin Forces failed to turn the fortunes
around. Overstock was shipped to Europe and Australia among others,
with Robo Machine/Machine Men stickers plastered over
the Godaikin branding.

Another
of Takara's attempts to market Microman and Diaclone to
America. Predated Diakron, and was slightly
more successful. The only pure transforming robot included were the
Watch
Robots,
based on Microchange figures. These weren't picked up for Transformers,
but were licensed and bootlegged to numerous companies throughout the
1980s.

The line
also included the ubiquitous Diaclone Gats Blocker (as Multi-Force
this time) and some other vehicles from the lines. Another
commercial failure for Takara, despite TV
support.

Bandai-handled
import of Machine Robo. Failed to take off, but led to Tonka
leasing the Machine Robo moulds for Gobots.
The Machine Men brand was, however, kept in Australia, where
it enjoyed success and received a number of variant figures (and was
also used to promote Godaikin overstock
shipped to Australia).

I'm not
even sure Moto-Bot is the original line - the same figures were
sold, either licensed or unlicensed, under myriad names, including Motorized
Robot, MotoRobot and Truck-Robots.
Numerous
all-plastic transforming vehicles, and following the same basic pattern
- each had a friction motor that would be removed and reattached in
robot mode to form a stand for the figure.

At least
two sizes made - standard ones included a jeep (available in army colours,
black with gold trim or racing colours and possibly more), a pickup
(available in yellow, red and maybe more), a flatbed truck (available
in at least blue and yellow), a grey USAF F-15, a black/red steam locomotive
and a red ATC. Larger ones had a box-like trailer section which would
be removed in robot mode to reveal the legs - these included a fire
engine, a blue-cabbed articulated truck and a box truck.

Heavily
bootlegged, and remained in production one way or another for most of
the decade, I'd speculate. Now fetch prices of up to 50p on ebay.

PADLOCK
ROBOT Manufacturer: Bandai AmericaIn Production: 1984

Actual
working transforming locks, using a large amount of diecast. The toys
were the first four figures from Bandai's Japanese Metal
Joe line. Presumably not a great success, as the last two figures
don't seem to have been issued in America.

PARASITESManufacturer: MatchboxIn Production: 1984-?

A little
like Transformers Vehicle Pretenders. A normal sized Matchbox
car (I think using modified existing Matchbox car moulds) that
would hinge open to reveal a vaguely vehicular block that could then
turn into a spindly, spiky robot. Matchbox' only real attempt to get
in on the market with their own designs. Not a huge success.

Largish
figures, all with the same transformation - the front of the car hand
a spring-loaded button that would cause the toy to pop into robot mode.
The bonnet split to form the arms, the head popped out from the spade
made, and a little trolley popped out of the underside to stand the
figure up.

Possibly
only two moulds (a sportscar and a jeep) were produced, though these
were recoloured in different schemes, including a (presumably licensed)
Knight Rider version (Ertl also owned the rights to toys and
models of KITT from the dodgy, student-friendly TV series). Originally
released in Japan by Fujisho. The same moulds became the Bat-Robô in Estrela's
Brazilian Transformers line.

POWERBOTSManufacturer: MattelIn Production: ? (most likely 1985)

Possibly
only contained two figures - the large Bandai Winch Robo figures
(for Powerbots the helicopter was named Flybot and the Hilux
named Towbot) which, for whatever reason, didn't come out as part of
Gobots. Only released by Mattel in North
America - in Europe they were part of Robo
Machine. Both had motorised winches, could move along in vehicle
modes and 'walk' in robot mode.

RACETRON
Manufacturer: ?In Production: ? (most likely 1984/1985)

Six-part
combining team, metal and diecast transforming cars with a combined
robot mode. Lack of clear manufacturer attribution is likely due to
dubious nature of moulds; Porschebot is a considerable retool of the
Gobots Street Heat figure, Cadilbot does the same trick with
Tux. Combined robot mode features what looks like an insane amount of
cheating with fake chest parts (which aren't mentioned in the cardback
instructions...). Anyone out there who actually completed this monstrosity?
Pontibot previously misidentified as a Zybot on the last version
of this list, which says it all. Right on the cusp of being a knock-off
(and thus ineligible for the list), but the other four figures seem
to be original work, so I think that the two Gobots clones are
plagiarism (cf. the Zybots bulldozer) rather than piracy.

I wasn't
sure whether to include these... while they do have clear vehicle and
robot modes, I'm not so sure whether they really transform, as the process
seems to involve taking the thing to bits, and then putting them back
together in a different order. So it's in with reservations for now.

Began as
a European import of Bandai's Machine Robo series. Later morphed
into a European version of Gobots, but
also used as a coverall brand name for anything robotic Bandai were
marketing in Europe, including Godaikin
overstock. The line received a small number of exclusive variants, and
included a few figures not included in Machine Robo or Gobots.

Moderately
successful for most of its' life, despite muddy branding (notably a
failed attempt to tie the line into the Challenge of the Gobots
cartoon). Only really stopped due to a lack of suitable figures coming
out in Japan. A short-lived revival, Robo
Machines, briefly hit the shelves in 1993.

All-plastic
figures with friction motors. In Europe at least, these were distributed
as part of a promotion at Esso petrol stations. They were taken from
a Japanese line named Change Robo. Eight figures were made, though
four of these used the same basic mould.

Robotech
was Harmony Gold's groundbreaking import of three Anime series -
Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeda. The rights to
make toys bearing the Robotech brand were then leased to Matchbox
(who would perform the same work for Voltron).

Matchbox
mainly concentrated on 3 3/4" action figures based on the human
characters and playsets scaled to these, but some transforming figures
did come out - deformed Veritech Fighters (based on different, more
complex moulds than those that featured in Convertors),
the 9 1/2" Alpha Fighter (produced in three colour schemes), the
15" tall SDF-1 and the 8" transforming Cyclone armour.

A notable
omission was a transforming, regular proportion Veritech Fighter - possibly
Transformers' use of Takatoku's
seminal 1/55 Macross VF-1 Valkyrie as Jetfire blocked this, though
imports and bootlegs of the figure in various Macross/Robotech
schemes were rife. The line was a big success, and has remained a steady
cult favourite since. Harmony Gold have intermittently revived the range
in conjunction with other manufacturers (e.g. Playmates in 1992).

An attempt
to spin a second line out of Machine Robo, in this case the 1986
Rock Robo figures. Initially outsold Gobots,
but quickly dropped off. Despite co-starring with the Gobots in the
animated film Battle of the Rock Lords the toyline was marketed
separately. Most of the figures came out in 1986, and the line wasn't
popular enough for Tonka to commission any new designs from Bandai.

Import
of Popy's Chogokin/Jumbo Machinder/Popinika toys.
Contained only a handful of actual transforming figures in the Two-in-Ones
assortment - Raydeen,
Gaiking, Dangard and Voltus
V - but deserves a mention for being there at the start.

Promotion
included a Marvel comic that ran for 20 issues, but mediocre toy sales
and controversy about spring-loaded weapons caused cancellation.

Four simple
designs, all using friction motors (the mark of a cheap 1980s transforming
robot line) and the same white/red/blue schemes - an F-15, a Porsche
956, a space jet and a flying saucer. Everyone had at least one of these.
All very bad toys. Tomy generally stuck to electronic toys, and
these things show why.

Also sold
by Tomy as Commando Gamma. No idea at the moment which version
came first, or whether they belonged to separate markets. Sorry =(

Simple
figures with, you guessed it, friction motors. Possibly designed for
the purpose by LJN.

TRANSFORMERSManufacturer: HasbroIn Production: 1984-1990

Still the
most famous, and in terms of sustained appeal, the most successful.
Began when Hasbro execs saw Diaclone and Microman figures
at a toy fair, and decided to apply the marketing strategy they'd utilised
for G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero to the figures. A new mythos
was devised by Marvel Comics (who also produced a comic series and co-operated
with Sunbow on a cartoon).

It's easy
to forget how groundbreaking the marketing side was at the time - having
seen the popularity of G. I. Joe File Cards with children, Hasbro
and Marvel patiently devised unique personalities for each character,
also sorting them into two factions - the Autobots and Deceptions. This
and the tie-in marketing allowed the larger, more expensive figures
to have a greater appeal to children.

Beaten
to the shelves by Gobots, but Hasbro's
careful approach paid dividends as Transformers hit phenomenon
levels in 1985, despite a growing bevy of competitors. A cinematic film
followed in 1986, but the line had arguably reached its' commercial
zenith by then. Despite a declining profile for the remainder of the
decade, easily outlasted its' competitors until the original line ran
out of steam in America in 1990. It carried on oblivious in Europe and
Japan (where it had ousted Diaclone and Microman as Takara's
main robot line in 1985), and was back on American shelves in 1993 as
Transformers - Generation 2. Since then, a long list of sequels
have kept it in near-constant production.

VOLTRONManufacturer: World Events ProductionsIn Production: 1984-1987

Much like
Harmony Gold with Robotech, World Events
Productions decided to fit a trio of unrelated Japanese anime series
(Golion, Dairugger XV and Albegas - WEP famously
requested Daltanias from Japanese studio Toei, but were sent
tapes of Golion instead and liked it so much they kept it) into
a shared universe and market the result to American children.

Toy production
was initially assigned to Matchbox, and used Popy/Bandai moulds issued
in the Chogokin
series. The three Voltron robots were numbered in the line - Voltron
I (Vehicle Voltron, or Voltron of the Near Universe, based on Dairugger
XV); Voltron II (Gladiator Voltron, or Voltron of the Middle Universe)
and Voltron III (Lion Voltron, or Voltron of the Far Universe). Miniature
versions (using the Chogokin ST figures) and Deluxe versions
(using the Chogokin DX figures for Gladiator Voltron and Lion
Voltron, but the even larger Dairugger XV DX Set, which
I am in love with, for Vehicle Voltron) of each were issued.

WEP shuffled
the order of the cartoon series, deciding to show the Lion Voltron episodes
first instead of third. The show was a smash hit, and the Deluxe Lion
Voltron figure, a flop when issued a couple of years earlier as the
GodaikinGolion,
was a big seller. However, the second season change to Vehicle Voltron
turned off a lot of viewers, unable to deal with the cartoon changing
in all but name. The plan for a third season to feature Gladiator Voltron
was hurriedly shelved (Albegas wasn't even dubbed), and WEP instead
commissioned Toei to create new Lion Force episodes.

After a
brief dalliance with LJN (who produced computerised versions of the
Lion and Vehicle Voltrons), WEP gave the toy licence to Panosh Place,
who devised a series of 3 3/4" action figures of the human characters
(again, like Robotech). They did also make a 16" Lion Voltron
set that could hold these.

The line
never quite recovered from the Vehicle Voltron failure, however, and
had petered out by 1987. Since then, WEP have carefully cultivated the
property through trainers and the like, as well as a couple of moderately
successful revival series, supported by toys commissioned from Toynami,
all revolving around the Lion Force Voltron.